The 10 Best Walnut Oils

For most kitchens, La Tourangelle Roasted is the walnut oil to start with. The maker roasts California walnuts and presses them at its own mill in Woodland, California, which gives the oil a deep, toasted flavor. A metal tin keeps out light, and that helps a fragile oil stay fresh longer. It's at its best whisked into vinaigrettes or poured over roasted squash and pasta. The roasted taste can overpower mild greens and delicate fish.

Cooks who want a French roasted oil without paying artisan prices can look at Roland Roasted. Roland Foods imports it from France in a slim tin that holds about a cup, a sensible amount for an oil that should be used within months of opening. Its nutty flavor suits green beans, beets and goat cheese salads. Its own label warns that it smokes early, so keep it away from frying. Its track record with owners is still thin.

Fresh Vintage Farms cold-presses California-grown walnuts without roasting them, so this oil tastes milder than the toasted kind. That makes it a gentle choice for drizzling over fruit, oatmeal or yogurt, or for stirring into muffin batter. The glass bottle has a pour spout that cuts drips. The seller suggests grilling and searing with it, but unroasted walnut oil starts to smoke at low heat, so save it for finishing. Store it in a dark cupboard.

Anyone who cooks French food at home, or wants a special bottle for dressings and cheese plates, should know Jean LeBlanc. This French maker grinds walnuts on a stone mill and presses them without added heat, the slow, old way, and the oil has a rich, rounded walnut taste. It comes in a black tin that blocks light. Supply runs short, with only a handful of tins left at times, and few owners have written about it.

Pressed raw from organic walnuts grown on small European farms, Erbology Organic is an uncooked oil meant for the spoon, or for pouring over soup, pasta and dips. It carries the USDA organic seal, and dark glass shields it from light. The maker says plainly it isn't for cooking, which is good advice for any raw walnut oil. The small bottle is pricey, and its health claims go further than the evidence.

Woodturners who make salad bowls and spoons are the main audience for Mahoney's Utility Finish. The maker heat-treats and filters the walnut oil so it soaks in and dries inside the wood instead of sitting on top, and it contains no solvents. Each coat needs a full day to cure in a warm room. A squeeze bottle with a nozzle helps on small pieces. People with a tree nut allergy should still be careful around it.

Cutting boards and butcher blocks need a finish that is safe around food, and Rowdy Rooster Refined is sold for that job. It's refined walnut oil, bottled in the U.S. by a woodworking shop, and it hardens into the wood, while mineral oil never does and needs topping up more often. The label says refining removes most nut proteins but still warns allergy sufferers to ask a doctor. It's a newer brand without much history.

Oil painters who want slower drying and smoother flow can add M. Graham Artists' Medium to their colors. The company grinds its own oil paints in walnut oil, so this medium matches them. Walnut oil yellows less than linseed, which helps whites and pale blues stay clean, and it can wash color out of brushes without solvent fumes. It isn't food, and it dries slowly, so thick layers take patience.

Painters on a budget, and anyone who mixes paint from dry pigment, will find Natural Earth Paint Medium a good fit. The company sells pigment kits for making your own oil paint, and this refined walnut oil is the binder meant for them. It thins color and stretches drying time without harsh solvents, and refined oil stays paler than kitchen oil. Like any walnut oil, it can turn rancid if left open in a warm studio.

Soap makers, and anyone who mixes their own lotions or massage oils, can stock up with Plant Guru Pure, a big bottle of cold-pressed walnut oil sold for skin and hair. It works as a carrier for essential oils, and the large size suits batch work. It isn't labeled as food, so keep it out of the kitchen. A nut allergy matters on skin too, and the seller's hair-growth promises have no solid support.